24-Year-Old Man Nabbed For Mail Theft After Leading Officers On Chase In Westchester: Police

A 24-year-old man who was apprehended following a police chase is being accused of stealing mail in Westchester, including a $14,000 check, authorities announced.

The events leading up to the man's arrest began on Wednesday, July 10 around 5:15 a.m., when a witness reported seeing three suspicious men trying to steal mail from the Mamaroneck Post Office's mailbox at 309 Mt. Pleasant Ave., according to the Village of Mamaroneck Police Department.

The witness gave officers a description of the suspects and their vehicle that matched one of a similar car that fled police after trying to steal from a Pelham mailbox, the department said.

Arriving Mamaroneck officers responded to the area of the post office but found that the suspect vehicle had already left.

Days later, on Friday, July 12 around 4:10 a.m., Greenburgh Police saw the same suspect vehicle and tried stopping it. However, the car kept driving and struck a police cruiser while trying to leave the area, authorities said.

The suspects then left the car and ran away. To catch them, Greenburgh Police set up a perimeter and with help from the New York State Police, Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Village of Mamaroneck Police, and the US Postal Inspector, the three men were apprehended.

One of the suspects, 24-year-old Bronx resident Joseph Tussen, was determined to be one of the men who was seen stealing mail from the Mamaroneck Post Office's mailbox on July 10. He was also found in possession of a belt, several glue traps used for stealing mail, and a $14,000 check that had been put in the mailbox earlier in the day, police said.

Tussen was later charged with third-degree larceny and arraigned in the Village of Mamaroneck Court. He was then released on his own recognizance with a future court date.

The names of the other two suspects were not released.